The Romans had killed him, the man who called himself Jesus. They had put him on the cross and left him there to die. But he had not died, even though the Romans guarding the hill on which he had been crucified thought he did even as the others crucified around him had all expired.
Joseph had given gold to the centurion in charge and claimed the body. He’d taken it away. What happened after that he had told only a handful of people, but already the stories had passed from whispered rumor into myth into religious belief.
That was fine with Joseph because he had never met anyone remotely like Jesus and suspected he never would again.
Joseph had been given a task by Jesus — guard the Grail, the cup from the Last Supper that Joseph, Jesus, and the twelve disciples had shared together. At first, it had not been a difficult assignment — he simply returned the Grail to its chamber deep inside Solomon’s Temple and hid it there.
That had worked fine for decades, but then came the revolt and the Roman reprisal. And he had heard of the commander of the Twelfth Legion, whom the Romans called Tacitus, but was known in this part of the world as Al-Iblis. A Shadow. Joseph had little doubt what the creature would be seeking once he entered the Temple.
There was the sound of footsteps echoing off the stone walls, coming closer down the stairs that led to this place. With great effort, Joseph of Arimathea got to his feet. The pillar he had been sitting on had been knocked down during one of the sackings of the Temple. Whether it had been the Syrians, the Babylonians, or someone else who had done it, he had no idea. But for all who had come pillaging through the Temple, none had ever found the chamber that housed the Grail.
A man entered the room. He carried two swords, each tainted with fresh blood, stuck in his leather belt. Also tied off to his belt was a stained leather satchel. “The Romans have breached the wall.”
“So that is Roman blood on your blades, Eleazer ben Yair?” Joseph asked.
Eleazer stared hard at the old man. “It is not. It is the blood of those who killed my uncle.”
Joseph sighed. “So even as the Romans enter the city, we still fight among ourselves.”
“It was a blood debt and it has been paid,” Eleazer said simply. He removed the leather satchel and opened it, revealing a severed head. Joseph recognized the face, despite the distortion of death etched on it — the leader of another band of zealots that had killed Eleazer’s uncle in ambush the previous month.
“And now?” Joseph asked.
Eleazer shrugged. “Now we will all die at the hands of the Romans, but we will take many of them with us.”
“Do you not wonder why I called you here?”
“I came here because you saved Judas, my uncle. I owe you a blood debt.”
“Then you will do what I say?”
Eleazer hesitated. “Do not ask me to dishonor myself.”
“I would not ask that,” Joseph said. “I am going to give you great honor.”
“How?”
Instead of answering, Joseph walked to the end of the room, where closely fit stones made up the foundation of the main wall of the Temple above them. He took a ring and placed it in a specific spot. A large stone block smoothly slid back and then to the side, revealing a passageway. Joseph grabbed the torch he had brought with him and indicated for Eleazer to follow him. They entered the passageway. It was a testament to Eleazer’s courage that he did not say or ask anything.
Joseph led the way, descending past stone blocks into the solid stone plateau on which the Temple had been built so many years ago. It had taken many men many years to carve this passageway out of solid rock. And from his father, the sixty-fourth Wedjat of Jerusalem, Joseph had learned that all who had worked on this part of the Temple had been secretly slain. Joseph was the sixty-fifth Wedjat, dating back to the time of the Exodus.
They went farther and farther down. The air cooled.
Finally, Eleazer spoke. “Is there a way out of the city via this tunnel?”
Joseph knew what he was thinking — Eleazer and his band of zealots could escape to continue to fight the Romans. “No. Not this way there isn’t.”
“But there is a tunnel out of the city from underneath the Temple?”
“Yes.” Joseph reached inside his cloak and pulled out a piece of papyrus. “That is a map showing the route out.”
“Then where are going now?”
“Here,” Joseph said as they came up to what appeared to be a dead end. Once more Joseph pressed his key against a spot on the wall and a stone slid open. Ducking, Joseph led the way in. They were now in a chamber cut out of solid rock. Eleazer gasped as he saw the piles of gold and jewels strewn about.
“Part of the riches King Solomon collected,” Joseph said.
“ ‘Part’?”
“Most of it was taken away by his son during his reign to be hidden in another place.”
“And where was that?”
“I do not know,” Joseph lied. “They also took the Ark of the Covenant with them.”
“It is too late to try to bribe the Romans,” Eleazer said as he lifted up a handful of gold coins. “They can come here and take this.”
“They will never find this place,” Joseph said.
“Then why do you bring me here?”
“Not for the obvious treasure,” Joseph said. He went to a stone pedestal on which was an object draped with a white cloth. He pulled aside the cloth, revealing a golden object. “I brought you here to take this with you when you escape.”
“The Grail,” Eleazer whispered as he walked up to the pedestal. He reached out, then hesitated. “Can I touch it? It is said that any who touch it will die.”
“You can take it,” Joseph said.
Eleazer lifted the chalice. “It is heavy.”
“In more ways than you know.”
“Why are you giving this to me?” Eleazer said, staring at the golden object he held.
“I want you to keep it safe,” Joseph said. “The Romans will not stay in Judea forever. When it is safe, you can bring it back here.”
“Where can I take it in Judea that will be safe?” Eleazer asked. “The Romans are everywhere.”
“Masada.”
Eleazer’s head snapped up. “Herod’s old hideaway? The Romans had an encampment there for a long time. But it is empty. We will be trapped.”
“You will be trapped,” Joseph acknowledged, “but you can hold that rock against anything the Romans will throw at you. There is only one thin path to the top. It cannot be taken by force of arms.”
“They will starve us out.”
“No, they won’t. I am a rich man. I have foreseen this day. I have had stores placed in the granaries on Masada. You can live there for many years. More years than the Romans could survive camped around it, besieging you.”
Eleazer hefted the chalice in his hands as he considered the proposition. It did not take him long to decide. “We will do it.”
“Then go. And God be with you.” He paused. “Leave that,” he said, indicating the leather satchel. Eleazer shrugged and placed it on the ground.
As Eleazer dashed out of the chamber, Joseph sank down on a pile of bags filled with gold coins with a deep sigh. Heneeded a brief moment of rest before he could move on to the next phase of his mission.
The streets were flowing with blood. Aspasia’s Shadow had entered Jerusalem through the breach and he followed the path of death that his soldiers were plowing through the city directly toward the Temple. Tactically, Aspasia’s Shadow knew that was not what Titus had ordered him to do. He should have turned along the walls and opened as many gates as possible to let the other legions into the city. But what Titus wanted was not Aspasia’s Shadow’s priority.
There were the bodies of women and children in the streets and Aspasia’s Shadow knew his men were giving no quarter. They had no time for prisoners. These people had chosen their fate and now they were reaping the results of that choice.